Belgian mother who killed her five children by slitting their throats euthanised: Reports

The quintuple murders in 2007, and the subsequent trial, rocked Belgium.
The 56-year-old Genevieve Lhermitte. (File Photo | AP)
The 56-year-old Genevieve Lhermitte. (File Photo | AP)

A Belgian woman who killed her five children by slitting their throats in 2007 has been euthanised at her own request, reports said.

Genevieve Lhermitte, who killed her children, aged three to 14, with a kitchen knife at their home in Nivelles, Belgium, was euthanised at her own request on Tuesday.

According to BBC, psychologist Emilie Maroit told the RTL-TVI channel that Genevieve Lhermitte likely chose to die on 28 February in a "symbolic gesture in respect for her children."

The 56-year-old was sentenced to life in prison in 2008, before being moved to a psychiatric hospital in 2019.

"It may also have been for her to finish what she started, because basically she wanted to end her life when she killed them," the psychologist was quoted as saying by the report.

The quintuple murders in 2007, and the subsequent trial, rocked Belgium.

During the trial Lhermitte's lawyers argued she was mentally disturbed and should not be sent to prison. But the jury found her guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced her to life in jail, the BBC report said.

In 2010 Lhermitte filed a civil lawsuit demanding up to three million euros (£2,655,840) from a former psychiatrist, claiming his "inaction" failed to prevent the murders, but she ended up abandoning the legal battle after 10 years, the report added.

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